Don’t forget about Jalen Brunson. The Knicks need him more than ever

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The thing about greatness is this: When it becomes the norm, it loses its appreciation over time. People naturally take it for granted. Once it’s shown, nothing else is accepted.

Jalen Brunson, since he put on a New York Knicks uniform three seasons ago, since he stepped foot in the Mecca and decided it was his, has been greatness.

He’s helped lift the franchise to three straight winning seasons, something not done since 2010-13. He’s been in the conversation for Most Valuable Player. When others chose not to be the face of New York, Brunson embraced it and returned the proud basketball town to relevancy.

But the Knicks are in the midst of a 51-win season that feels a bit empty, largely due to New York going 0-10 against the league’s best teams after trading the majority of its assets last offseason in an attempt to be title contenders. And it feels like people have forgotten how good Brunson really is.

“Last year, Jalen Brunson was, in my eyes, the best player in the Eastern Conference,” former NBA player and current analyst Kendrick Perkins said during the regular season. “This year, he’s not even a top-15 player in the Eastern Conference. That’s the bar he’s set and the expectations for him.”

Brunson just wrapped up a regular season in which he averaged 26 points, despite the Knicks adding two players in Karl-Anthony Towns and Mikal Bridges who would dip into Brunson’s shot attempts. He dished out a career-best 7.3 assists. His 60.5 true shooting percentage is the best of his career since becoming a full-time starter. Brunson will be on one of the All-NBA teams once again, and there’s a decent chance he makes the first team.

Greatness isn’t a one-time thing. It’s excelling again, again and then one more time. Brunson has done that in New York, and the safe bet is that he’ll continue to as the Knicks embark on their most pressured-filled postseason during his time.

To understand Brunson’s impact is to understand what this Knicks season would be like without him.

Let’s jump back to earlier this season, from Feb. 12 to March 2, when New York won five of seven games in overtime or in regulation by two possessions or less. Just before the All-Star break, in an overtime win against the Atlanta Hawks, Brunson hit the game-winning shot with 11 seconds left. Right after the All-Star break, in a down-to-the-wire game against the Chicago Bulls, Brunson hit a jump shot to send the game to overtime and the Knicks went on to win. Against the Philadelphia 76ers, Brunson scored six points in the final 1:28 to carry New York to a victory. The next game, against the Memphis Grizzlies, Brunson scored or assisted on the final eight points in a 114-113 Knicks win. Two nights later, in an overtime win against the Miami Heat, Brunson scored the final bucket in regulation to force overtime, where he went on to score or assist on eight of the team’s points to close out the win.

“You guys see it every night,” Knicks coach Tom Thibodeau said. “It doesn’t surprise you. I try not to take it for granted. I appreciate everything he brings to our team, and he plays to win. His competitive spirit is spectacular. That’s all he wants to do. That’s all he’s ever been.”

Brunson’s entire basketball career has served as a track record for game-winning moments like these. He recalled a game during his sophomore year of high school where he was hesitant to be the hero and how his dad, Rick Brunson, taught him how to manage the pressure.

“My dad proceeded to send me clips of NBA players shooting with confidence, make or miss, at the end of games,” he said. “I played in the Proviso West (Illinois) holiday Tournament my sophomore year of high school. We played Hinsdale Central, and I made a game-winner. That was like a week later.”

(Sam Navarro / Imagn Images)

Decision-makers for the Dallas Mavericks, the team that drafted Brunson with the No. 33 pick out of Villanova, noticed there was something special about him early.

“You could tell he had all the ‘it’ factors,” a former Mavericks assistant coach, who coached Brunson early in his pro career and would only speak under anonymity due to their current commitments, told The Athletic. “That’s the magic, when you can find a player that has the ‘it’ factor because there’s not many players that have that. But when you can find that it really blows analytics and things like that out of the equation. It transcends some of the typical scouting measurements. It’s a little bit riskier because numbers make people feel comfortable, and it’s a comfort zone for decision makers to have that confirmation with the analytics and the numbers and the wingspan and all that kind of stuff. And I don’t know that he fits all those things, but you’re around him for any extended period of time then you realize just what a winner he is, how mature he is, that he’s got all these impactor things.”

This season brought about the most difficult period of Brunson’s career. On March 6, late in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers, the Knicks’ star rolled his ankle. He missed close to a month. Up until that point, Brunson had never missed that much time during the regular season. Brunson had to learn to stay involved with his team without being able to go to play.

“It’s a whole different perspective when you’re watching on TV and not traveling,” Brunson said. “It’s really different.”

While sidelined, Brunson took it upon himself to help build up a rookie on the roster. In a March 26 home loss to the Clippers, rookie point guard Tyler Kolek played the entire third quarter before getting benched for the fourth. After Kolek came out of the game, Brunson sat next to the young point guard and gave words of encouragement and advice.

For Kolek, Brunson’s support has gone a long way.

“It’s always good to pick his brain,” Kolek told The Athletic. “He’s been in similar situations, thrust into whatever roles he’s asked to do, and he did a great job. Any question I have, he’s always there for me to answer.

“He’s definitely taken me under his wing. That’s my vet. I guess you could call him a vet now. He takes me to dinner, on the road hanging out. He shows me how to be a professional. At the end of the day, that’s what it’s really all about. The on-court stuff is the on-court stuff, but the off-court stuff is really more important. How to carry yourself. How to be a man.”

Brunson is about to embark on his greatest challenge since coming to New York. The Detroit Pistons, the Knicks’ first-round opponent, are playing with house money, while New York has everything to lose. That can be a recipe for disaster. Beating the Pistons would likely set up a second-round matchup against the Boston Celtics, a team that defeated New York four times during the regular season. However, Brunson will step into any series — including one against the Celtics — and be one of the best players on the floor.

Having someone like Brunson leading the way in the playoffs is a cheat code not many franchises have. Last season, he scored 39 points or more in six playoff games. He has been steady, he has tasted success and he understands the importance of winning in New York.

And if you thought the Knicks needed him before, they need him more than ever now.

The thing with Brunson, though, is that he tends to always deliver.

“I get to watch his show on the court, and that’s the best seat in the house,” Towns said.

(Top photo: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images) 

This news was originally published on this post .

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